Plenty Belize Health Care

IMANI HOUSE, Inc. was formed in 1986 in Liberia, West Africa and IHI NY began in Brooklyn in 1990.

IMANI HOUSE BUILDING COMMUNITIES IN
LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA AND BROOKLYN, NY

Imani House, Inc. (IHI) works to empower low income youth, women, families, and immigrants through educational programs designed to help them help themselves, gain self esteem, improve skills, find employment, and progress.

IMANI HOUSE prides itself on using a bottom up approach. We work at empowering grassroots Liberians toward greater self-sufficiency and leadership in the organization and in their communities.

IHI is well known and has built very positive relationships throughout Liberia. We are well suited to establishing programs that build on popular participation and democratization. Working largely with women, IHI plans to expand our literacy and micro-enterprise development efforts inclusive of our theme based instruction around topics such as governance, decision making, economic management and other important issues.

In 1998 IHI collaborated with the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs on a program aimed at post conflict re-constructive capacity building. Workshops were held assuring female participants an active roll in the identification and planning of their specific community needs. Civic education through civic involvement with tangible outcomes were the aim of these exercises. This program was conducted in the Village of Duahzon, a community that IHI has collaborated with since 1991.

IHI has won numerous awards including most recently a Presidential Points of Light Award, a Proclamation from the Manhattan Borough President and Award of Excellence for best Publication from Laubach Literacy for our Bassa Student Manual.

IHI is well known in the US and Liberia and is recognized as one of the more effective smaller NGOâs working in Liberia with the majority of our funds being spent on program expenses.

Liberia Programs Include:
Jahtondo Town Clinic: This full time clinic has added a laboratory and a Dentist. Preventative Health programs for the residents has been a valuable way of curbing the death rate due to poor sanitation, diarrhea or high fevers.

UN HACO/OPS Grant: This grant allowed IHI Agricultural Technicians to assist the farming community in Zoe Town, with tools, seeds and training in rice production. While vegetable, chicken and rabbit production continues at Jahtondo Town.

Bassa Adult Literacy Program:
IHI recently won an Award of Excellence is being used in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. Literacy programs in English continue at two sites, Jahtondo Town and Brewerville.

The UN and the Trickle Up Program:
IHI has collaborated with the UN and the Trickle Up program since 1996. This program allows us to give small grants to women and offer them training in micro business management.

Student Scholarships:
IHI offers scholarships to deserving Liberian student through funds raised in the US. IHI Radio Program: The IHI radio program IMANI HOUSE & Development, which airs weekly on Catholic Radio Veritas. Our programs focus on literacy awareness and developmental issues.Some of these Liberia programs are funded in part by grants and donations made available from: Plenty International, United Nations Development Program, Norris Strauss Associates, The Catholic Relief Services, Laubach Literacy International, UNICEF, UN HACO, ELCM Radio and many others.

New York programs Include:

Womenâs Empowerment & Family Literacy:
Volunteer tutors work with mother and child to teach English, reading, and writing as well as parenting and community involvement. We also sponsor English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes for women, which include functional life skills workshops about citizen rights and responsibilities, voting, domestic violence, etc.

Building Bridges....Bias Prevention Program and Computer Training: Using the computer and the WWW, students research and evaluate anti-bias programs currently in use and facilitate workshops among their peers in schools and youth community organizations.

They also create a newsletter which focuses on improved inter-ethnic understanding through bias awareness. A youth computer camp teaches youths basic computer skills.

Community Food Pantry and Referral Service: IHI operates a weekly food pantry which distributes nutritious food to needy families and the elderly. During distribution surveys are conducted in order to refer participants to local and state services so that their legal, educational, health, housing, and employment needs are addressed.

Immigrant Services: Free ESOL classes, citizenship assistance, American Life Studies workshops, and referrals for legal assistance are provided for immigrants. Some of these Brooklyn programs are funded in part by grants and donations made available from: The Corporation for National Service AMERICORPS VISTA Program, The Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc., Laubach Literacy, Brooklyn Borough President/DYCD, Chase Manhattan Bank, Hewlett Packard and many others.

For further information about IMANI HOUSE visit http://www.imanihouse.org

Or write us at::

IMANI HOUSE
76A Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217 USA

Phone: 718-638-2059 Fax: 718-798-1094
E-mail: imani@imanihouse.org

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